It was such a day today.
It was already clear last night that the kitchen faucet had health problems. The hot water tap turned loosely and made a strange sound. It is one of the 9 kitchen faucets here in the village, and the most used.
Used day in, day out; just keep on running – another jet of wonderfully clear mineral water
Hot or cold. Well, we actually don’t have cold water, because this thermal water comes from the well at a temperature of 30º. The earth warms it in the subterranean lake, the spill-over runs spontaneously through the bathhouse. Of course it cools down a bit on the way, but in the summer you have to put a bottle in the fridge if you really want cold water.
Talk about dutifully. Or reliable! Everything with “faithfulness” is pretty much applicable to that tap.
He’d been there for years. One of the first faucets plus water pipes that I installed myself.
That was a challenge for me at the time. In the meantime I think: “I did it once – you must do everything once – so now I call the plumber.”
That is roughly 12 years ago. That’s around 144 years old in kitchen-faucet-years!
Anyway, it was clear that a replacement of the knob or the interior wouldn’t do. And because you need water so many times, I thought it would be best if I started my day with that.
Always do the difficult things first. Then you have the rest of the day desperately thinking about why it doesn’t work and what you should do now. So I was completely prepared for situations, misery, setbacks and so on.
I step on the little ladder, turn off the water, grab the pipe wrench, and loosen the nuts with some effort. It seems as if everything has grown together, as if they do not want to let go of each other. I briefly inspect the tap, but no, nothing can be saved about this. Come on with the new one!
I’d found a brand new kitchen faucet in the workshop, in a box with the words: “Attention! The rubbers are missing!”
I wrote that down myself, because I know me. It’s possible that you mount the tap, and it’ll leak. Then you’re spending a day discovering what’s going on. Experience writes here. I already did that once.
So I look for rubbers and even find them, push them in, screw the faucet on, walk to the stairs, and turn the water on very carefully. Everything in the expectation that if I return to the kitchen in a minute, I will be confronted with a fountain that is spraying in all directions.
But what the ….! Nothing of that! The water is in the water pipe, and when I turn on the tap, it just works. And when I close it, the water just stays inside!
How about that?
It was such a day today. The rest also went so smoothly. Oh, why doesn’t such a day last your entire life?
(foto of the faucet: credits: objects@arkela)